Prior to the start of the season, senior offensive lineman Ben Lang said that his teammates wanted to bring the pride of a successful football program back to Valders.

He added that he didn't want this team to be "a joke."

With one game remaining in the regular season, it's the Vikings who got a few laughs. The chuckles came at the expense of those who underestimated them.

Coming off a pair of 1-8 campaigns, Valders' record stands at 5-3 overall and 4-2 in the Olympian Packerland-Large Conference. The Vikings are assured their first playoff berth since 2011.

It seems fitting that Lang and his fellow seniors are a primary reason why Valders will be experiencing postseason football once again.

"I have to tip my hat to my seniors," Vikings head coach Jesse Schneider said. "They really stepped up in the offseason."

In a way, the opening games set the tone for the Vikings' past two seasons. Valders opened up a 20-0 lead over visiting Random Lake. However, an injury to starting quarterback Trenton Sundsmo along with some other misfortune quickly turned the tides. The Rams scored 25 unanswered points and skipped town with the win.

The Vikings were outscored 310-45 over the next eight games.

Valders started out this season with a bit of sweet revenge, rolling Random Lake 47-0 and putting up 450 yards of offense in the process.

Though the non-conference affair didn't have any bearing on the Vikings' playoff status, the fast start was a welcomed sight for Schneider and his players.

"We had the same guys as last year. Getting on track that very first game and getting that win was a great feeling," Schneider said. "The past two years we had two wins. Starting out strong was definitely a positive."

Valders dropped its next two games, but has won four of five since.

"I think we've had momentum going all year," Schneider said. "We aren't giving up big plays. We got some things to go our way for once. In the past, when we were losing, it seems like everything is going against you."

The Vikings are rolling of late, outscoring their foes 81-10 in the last three contests.

"The last few weeks some guys have realized...'when we step up, look at how much better we can be.' Some guys are starting to realize, 'hey, let's play harder. Let's practice a little harder. Let's hit a little harder' and look at what's happening," Schneider said. "You need to have that positive reinforcement, those couple wins in there, to get that going again. I think we've always had it with these guys."

The regular season concludes when Wrightstown (7-1, 6-0 OP-Large) comes to town tonight. The Tigers are the No. 3 team in Division 4 in the WisSports.net coaches poll.

No matter what the scoreboard says at the conclusion of the 48 minutes, Schneider wants his players to be able to feel good about themselves heading into the opening game of the playoffs.

"The pregame speech will be to carry the momentum, no matter what happens," Schneider said. "We want to win. Winning would mean beating a team that we haven't beat in a long time. I think we're capable of it if we play the way we're supposed to.

"The No. 1 focus will be to continue the work we're doing, play at a high level, win, lose, draw, whatever happens to be able to have that high energy going into the (playoff) game."